A new bill will allow a person to be tried and convicted of a criminal offence without seeing all the information relied on by the Crown and without the right to be present, the NZ Law Society says.

More than 300 staff in 20 teams across Minter Ellison Rudd Watts have competed in a month-long competition to raise money for the Child Cancer Foundation.

The result was a donation of over $30,000 to the charity, supporting children with cancer and their families.

“Lawyers are naturally pretty competitive, and we had 20 teams across the firm competing against each other to raise the most,” said partner and Community Investment Group member Neil Millar.

“This is a new fundraising initiative we have rolled out this year. Each year Minter Ellison Rudd Watts will have a Fundraising Month to get behind a worthy charity – and this year we chose the Child Cancer Foundation.

“Our strategy this year was to better coordinate our efforts and ensure staff know about all the great work we do in the community so they feel encouraged to get involved also.”

Competing for the most charity dollars inspired some inventive ideas, Millar said.

“One team completed challenges with the more they raised, including the ice bucket challenge, dying their hair the colours of the Child Cancer Foundation logo and wearing onesie’s to work,” he said.

“We also had partners throwing themselves off the Sky Tower, a 2nd hand book sale, a BBQ at Bunnings, and many raffles where even our clients got behind the cause and donated a lot of amazing prizes.”

The firm’s donation will assist the vital work the charity is doing in offering services that ensure children and families are supported and remain connected through every stage of their journey.

“When a family is told that their child has cancer, everything changes in an instant. It is because of the compassion and support of businesses, like Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, that the Child Cancer Foundation is able to provide its practical and emotional support to families throughout their child’s cancer treatment, and beyond,” said Child Cancer Foundation business development manager Liz Atkinson.